Singapore tech employee says his role will be outsourced to India in 6 months, seeks advice on how to prepare for retrenchment

SINGAPORE: A local tech employee who has spent three years at a multinational corporation (MNC) has taken to social media to reveal that he and several colleagues are set to be laid off as the company plans to outsource their roles to India in six months.

Unsure of how to handle the looming retrenchment, he wrote on the r/askSingapore: “What are some best practices to prepare for this? What are some things to do in the upcoming months (besides start applying for jobs) to prepare for the layoffs?”

So far, he shared that the company has only advised him to obtain a testimonial confirming that he wasn’t fired and to begin compiling his work to strengthen his portfolio and CV. “I’d appreciate any more tips and feedback!” he said.

“I would quickly find new skill sets, liao.”

In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Redditor pointed out that, since the original poster’s “work can be outsourced,” it might be wise to start learning a new skill set to stay relevant. 

The commenter explained, “What I’ve noticed is that if your current work can be outsourced, that also means other companies are doing the same. I would quickly find new skill sets, liao.”

Another user, who also works in the tech industry, shared their personal experience of being laid off in March 2023. 

“It took me four months to find another job,” they said. “The main piece of advice I can give is to pace your applications. You may feel very anxious to send out a landslide of applications within the first one or two weeks or months, but in reality, the job opportunity that’s right for you might only surface in three, four, or more months.”

“So, although you should try to keep your application rate up, bear in mind that quality is just as important as quantity.”

Meanwhile, a third Redditor advised the poster to start saving aggressively to sustain himself during a potential job search. They also suggested tapping into personal connections for job leads, updating one’s LinkedIn profile, and enabling the “Open to Work” feature. 

A fourth Redditor added that the poster should brush up on his “interview skills,” since his technical skills alone won’t make him stand out in such a competitive job market.

“There are many job seekers in the market, but there are limited jobs; thus, you need to make a good impression on hiring managers in addition to having relevant technical skills,” they wrote.

In other news, a woman in her mid-20s recently took to Reddit to share how her mental health has gone downhill ever since she started her first corporate job about a year ago.

Posting on the r/SingaporeRaw subreddit on Sunday (Oct 12), she said that while she has always been a naturally anxious person, things have gotten a lot worse since she joined the workforce.

Read more: ‘I just feel like a failure every day’: Woman says her anxiety has intensified since starting first job